President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has credited Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for the idea of having hospitals in districts without hospitals.
Commending Dr. Bawumia for his forward thinking and commitment to the development of the nation during his visit to the Northern Region on Tuesday, President Akufo-Addo said Dr. Bawumia came up with the idea in the height of the covid-19 pandemic.
"This is extremely important for the history books of this country. At the height of the pandemic, in late 2020 or early 2021, I was in my office one afternoon when the Vice President walked in; he comes into my office whenever he wishes to talk to me - no appointment, nothing.
So, he walked in and said his research department has just come across a very troubling fact that in the 260 districts in Ghana, 88 districts had no district hospitals at all. To be honest, when I heard him, my heart jumped."
"When you are having a disease that is affecting people without distinction, whether they are high or low, you need medical facilities that everybody can have access to. So, I called the Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr. Asia Asare and said this is the information that Vice President Bawumia has given me that 88 districts in Ghana do have no district hospitals at all. I want you to verify this information and then come back and give me an idea about what we can do about it. He came back and said in fact, the figure was not 88 but it was 101", President Akufo-Addo said.
He added; "So, you put this 101 together with the six Regional hospitals for the six new Regions plus the 7th for the Western Region plus the 3 psychiatric hospitals, that is what gives you Agenda 111."
The President, further expressing admiration for his Vice President, said Dr. Bawumia has demonstrated that he thinks about the progress of the nation ''all the time".
"So you can see, the Vice President, this is the sort of man that you entrust power to. Yes, this is somebody who is thinking about the country all the time. That is the simple truth about the origin of Agenda 111."
